The Custom Made Life of Kareemah Muhammad
by STARR9781
Summary: Not good at summaries.Kareemah is running from her home and ends up in Cairo with her little sister,who leads her to someone who will help her,Benjamin and the Egyptian clan.She's changed and Ben is forced to take care of her and be sure she isn't found, let alone hurt in any way shape or form.But, being Kareemah,it isn't easy.I repeat,not good at summaries.Good story.I promise.


**Hey, guys. Sooo...new fanfic. Awesome. This chapter is pretty boring, but the action and romance and all comes later. The intro had to be a little boring, so, yeah. And every character mentioned by name will be 100% relevant and will appear multipletimes, some more than others. Okay. Read on.**

"Kareemah, wait!" my father yelled to me as I ran out of the house into the crowded streets of the market place of Siwa, Egypt. I had gained enough skills to maneuver my way through the high noon crowd easily. I kept running until I got to my 5 year old little sister, Omorose's school. I hurried inside, probably looking slightly crazy, my sari a little out of place from the running and my hair had completely fell from its high bun that once sat at the top of my head, but now fell at my lower back. I found her classroom and her teacher looked over at me, stopping mid-sentence.

"Kareemah. What a wonderful surprise." I smiled slightly, in too much of a hurry to be genuine. My father was planning on getting Omorose and I "blessed" because he believes we're "possessed" because we have powers. I have the power to control natural disasters. Like, right now, I could cause a hurricane or a snow storm to happen for as long as I want it to. Omorose (pronounced Aw-muh-rose) has the ability to predict my disasters and their outcomes. Kind of like a future seer, but she can only predict what will happen to people during my disasters. She has learned to focus on certain people's outcome if my disaster is to come recently, but she isn't very good at it. It's hard for her, and she is only a 4 year old girl. She looked over at me from her seat in the classroom and smiled, then frowned once she saw my expression. I smiled a little at her teacher.

"I need Omorose." She looked at me a little longer then nodded and looked at Omorose and nodded. I beckoned her to move quickly and she hurriedly stood and grabbed her small bag of books and rushed over to me. "Thank you," I said to her teacher with a wave before grabbing Omorose's bag and tossing it over my shoulder then picking her up. At the way I looked and getting Omorose out early, her teacher would be calling home soon and asking my father about everything. And my goal is for us to be out of the city by then.

"Reemie, what's wrong?" she asked and touched my face as I rushed to get to the new port where cars traveling far was.

"I'll tell you later, sweetie, just wait, please." That's all that was said until we reached the port. I sat her down on her feet and smoothed her hair before putting a headpiece over her dark hair. "You have to wear this for a bit, alright?" She nodded and I smiled before placing my own on my head. "Now from now on, you have to say I'm your mother and that you don't know who your father is because he was killed in Mut, okay? We're on our way home from visiting your grandmother in Siwa, okay?" She nodded again and I knelt down in front of her. "Who am I, Rosie?"

"My mother."

"Good. And where is your father?"

"I don't know who he is. He was killed in Mut."

"Very good. Where are we coming from?"

"Siwa from visiting my grandmother."

"Excellent. And now we're on our way to Cairo where we live, okay? That's what you tell people if anyone asks, alright?" She nodded and I picked her back up before walking out of the shade and hurrying to the car port. "Excuse me! Please wait!" I watched in faux desperation as a car rode by. I sighed and sat my bag on a bench. As expected, the young American man that was watching came over, curious and feeling sorry for the "troubled young Egyptian girl" act I was putting on.

"Excuse me. Do you need a ride?" he asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes, but another car should be coming back soon. It shouldn't take long." He looked down at the expensive watch on his wrist then over to where the car had disappeared. It was going to Mut, which I had booked it to go and paid the driver to tell everyone that's where he was taking Omorose and I.

"That car is going to Mut. It will take weeks before it returns and that was the last car of the day."

"Really? Oh no." I sighed and looked at Omorose placed on my hip with her head on my shoulder, her face buried in my hair as she twirled a piece around her finger. "Sorry, Rosie. We have to go back to grandma's house until tomorrow."

"Well, no. I could drive you to where you need to go. Or at least the next car port. I'm going to Cairo. You?" I smiled and nodded.

"Cairo." He smiled and picked up my bag.

"Well, come on. I'll drive you." I pretended to be extremely grateful, showering him with kindness and gratitude as he placed my back in the trunk and helped me into the car after I put Omorose in the back seat. He got in and started the overly expensive Italian car and started speeding away.

"Your car is fast. We will be home in no time," I said with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, it's a Ferrari. I bought it last month, had it shipped here. Is that your daughter?"

"Yes. That is my Rosie. Omorose. I am Siti."

"I'm Nathaniel. You can just call me Nate. Or Nat. Or Thanny. Or just…Nathaniel," he said, looking over at me as I laughed. "How…how old are you? You don't seem old enough to have a daughter. Well…then again, girls over in America are having children younger than you…"

"You babble a lot." He looked over at me then laughed nervously.

"Yeah, I know. Bad habit."

"Bad habits are the hardest to break. And I am 19. How old are you? You seem too young to have a car and be visiting in Egypt."

"Oh, I moved here not long ago because…for my fiancé."

"Oh, congratulations."

"Thank you, but…she was killed two months ago. House fire at her house in Cairo." He shrugged and smirked. "I just never left. And don't apologize or anything. I'm fine." I nodded and he looked over at me again. "And I'm 21." I settled a little more comfortably in my seat and glanced in through the mirror at Omorose. She was sound asleep. "She's perfect. She looks exactly like you." I looked over at him and he was looking at me and nodded. "You can get settled in for a nap if you want. I'm not going to try to kill you or anything." I laughed before turning back the other way towards the window and closing my eyes for a quick nap. I'll be able to protect us both if something bad happens. After only 5 minutes, I dozed off.

"Hey, Siti," someone called to me while shaking me awake. I opened my eyes and saw the blurry figure of Nathaniel. It was late at night, most likely. I sat up and looked back at Omorose. She was wide awake eating Halawa. I smiled and looked at Nathaniel, now fully visible. "I, uh…she was hungry, so we stopped to get something to eat. She ate Fatta then we bought some…uh… Hawa?"

"_Halawa_. And thank you."

"Of course. Oh, we got you some…uh…_Ful_ _Medames_ and _Konafah_. She…Omorose told me that's what you like."

"Thank you. You did not have to do that."

"Yeah, I did. You're basically in my care until I get you to your home in Cairo. So, that includes feeding you."

"Have you eaten?"

"Yeah. I had…uh…_Taro_ soup, I think it's called." I nodded and sat up, looking out the window. We were in Cairo already. "Oh, yeah. Uh, we're in Cairo now. Where are you staying?" I froze and looked at him. I almost told him the truth, but then I remembered the possibility of him being hurt for not telling the information he knew.

"Uh…I'll direct you. It's a new house and I'm not so familiar with it. Especially at night."

"If you want, you could stay at my house until morning. It has an apartment connected to it. It's not big or anything special, but it's easier."

"No need. It's right there," I said, pointing to the random house that many people were going into. He looked at it and pulled in front of it, then looked at me in question. "My husband is having a party. He invited a few people over for Rosie and my return." He nodded, buying my millionth lie so easily. I got out the car and he followed, rushing over to help me. He carried my bag over his shoulder and offered to carry Omorose, but I turned him down and took the bag from him. "I'm sorry. I don't think it's a good idea to bring a random man into my home. My husband will be suspicious. He tends to hurt other men that even look at me, no matter how innocent it is." He nodded and stepped back, looking sad, but smiled regardless.

"It's okay. I understand. It was nice meeting you."

"Thank you so much for driving us. I hope we weren't any trouble."

"Not at all. And it was a pleasure. Maybe we'll see each other. Hopefully your husband won't try to hunt me down or anything." I laughed a little and nodded. We said our final goodbye and he drove off. I made sure he was gone before walking into the house. It wasn't my house, obviously. It was a house used for people trying to hide or who didn't have a place to stay. The owners quickly got us our own room and I settled in with Omorose to sleep. I glanced at the small digital clock that flashed 1:52 am in bright red letters at me. Omorose, already asleep again, was snuggling against me. I sighed and forced my eyes closed, trying not to think of the possibilities of my father finding us or sending for us. I fell asleep 5 hours later only to awake from a nightmare of my father finding us and taking Omorose. When my eyes snapped open, she wasn't lying next to me. I leapt up quickly and ran around the upstairs, not even finding a child, before running downstairs, frantically asking people if they'd seen her. When I found her, she was seated at a small table in a tiny chair in front of a television with 3 other children her age. I sighed in relief and leaned my head against the door frame.

"She was awake and wanted to leave you asleep." My head snapped around to see Nathaniel standing over me, looking down at me. I opened my mouth, but closed it again, not finding the words to say. "You look tired. Very tired."

"Wha…what are you doing here?" He shrugged and held up a bag.

"You forgot your _Ful Medames_ and _Konafah_. I came back this morning to bring it to you to find that this was a home for the homeless or runaway teens." He looked at me expectantly then nodded towards Omorose. "Is that really your daughter?" I hesitated, then shook my head. He moved uncomfortably and ran his hand through his brown hair, his hazel eyes looking troubled. I just looked up at him, waiting for the angry slap I'm entirely too used to. "Can we…can we go talk?" I eyed him for a while then nodded.

"I'll go get dressed." I walked off then stopped, glancing back at Rosie then him. "Who dressed Rosie?"

"The owner's daughter. I think her name was Demita." I nodded then quickly walked away. Great. Now Rosie and I will probably have to relocate _again_. Nathaniel knows the truth, so we'll have to either kill him or move. And I am _not_ killing this sweet, innocent and cute guy. He's American, yes, but he's harmless. I can tell. I washed up in the bathroom and dressed in a jeweled teal sari with a cropped top and without the drape covering my head, seeing there was no point anymore, and a pair of jeweled sandals. I brushed out my dark hair then braided it into a thick braid that swung well past my waist and slowly walked back downstairs, where Nathaniel was waiting for me, playing with Omorose. She giggled at whatever game it was then leapt happily, clapping her hands together. Then she froze, her face becoming blank.

"Rosie?" Nathaniel said, confused. I rushed over and knelt in front of her. She was having a vision. What reason would I have to use my gift now? She came back to reality and blinked several times before touching my face, which then showed me the vision she'd have. Everything was dark, but I could see dark figures around. 5 of them, not including Rosie and I. There were rocks all around, like an avalanche of rocks or an earthquake occurred, and some things were on fire. There was a huge puddle of water we were standing in and there was a dead man under a bunch of rocks. I looked at his hand and saw that there was a gold wedding ring on it with a crown engraved in it. My father has that ring. I looked closer and saw my name engraved on the other side. Just like my father's. She dropped her hand and looked up at Nathaniel, who was watching us curiously. I turned to him and stood straight. He was eyeing me then he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair again. "We definitely need to talk." He started walking, then looked back at me. I hadn't moved; I just watched him go. I looked down at Omorose and she started walking towards Nathaniel. That let me know that I had to go. For a five year old, she's pretty smart. I followed them both out and found a lot of people walking around already.

"What time is it?"

"1:13 pm.," Nathaniel answered, then looked back at me. "You slept for a while."

"No. I was awake until 7:00. Bad dream. Then I went to sleep." He nodded then led me around to where his car was parked. I looked up at him and slid into the car. He put Omorose in the back seat for me then got in himself. People were eyeing us weirdly as we got settled and drove off. He took us to a small family restaurant in the center of the city and we walked into the aired building, taking in the cultural sights and sensuous smells. It made my mouth water and my stomach growl, making me remember I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. We were seated and ordered, then Nathaniel placed his arms on the table and stared at me. "I'm 19…and I'm from Siwa. This is my sister Omorose. She's 5. I took her and ran away from my home in Siwa because my father was planning to have us "blessed" by a priest because he believes we are possessed by evil demon spirits. The blessing would include a process of burning, beating and/or cutting out the demon spirit. I've been through the process several times throughout my childhood. It was horrifying. I do not want to endure it again and I definitely do not want my sister to endure that experience." He was silent for a while, then looked at Omorose and back at me.

"Why does he believe you have evil spirits?"

"We have…gifts. I..." I stopped and lowered my voice to a low whisper. "I can control natural disasters. I can cause one to happen. And Rosie…she can see when I'm going to use them; what's going to happen if I do."

"Is that what happened before when she froze then touched your face?" I nodded as our waiter brought our food over. We ate in silence for a while. Nathaniel looked to be processing all of the information through his head and I was thankful for that. He stopped then looked up at me. I didn't look at him, though. I stared down at my plate. "Please look at me. Don't…don't do that, Siti." I looked up at him from under my long ebony eyelashes. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie to me?"

"Because if you knew the truth, you would be put in danger, too. My father is most likely hunting us down now, and if that's the case, then no one can know where we are or who we are. And…my name isn't Siti. It's Kareemah."

"Then where did you get the name Siti from?"

"That is my mother's name. Siti Muhammad." He looked over at Omorose. "Yes, her name is really Omorose." He nodded then laid his head on top of his arms. "I apologize. I did not mean to cause you any grief. I meant to prevent it."

"Stop. Don't apologize. I'm a complete stranger. Plus, I'm American. You have a right not to tell me your life." I sat still, watching his fingers, which were tapping on the table to a beat unheard except from his fingers. Though he said he understood and didn't want an apology, I could tell he was still hurt and upset about the situation. "But…but why would you want to stay in a place like that rather than the apartment I have attached to my house?" I shrugged.

"If I had stayed with you, I would have had to tell you some things about me, and I wanted to keep you out of this whole situation as much as humanly possible. That car that was headed to Mut, I paid the driver to do that and tell everyone I was in it with Rosie if they asked." He sighed and put his head on the table in frustration.

"God, what have I gotten myself into?" he mumbled, then raised his head and dragged his hand down his face. "Okay. You and Rosie have gifts that are special abilities. What was the vision she showed you?" I froze and looked over at Omorose, who sat watching us silently, slowly eating her food.

"She killed Papa," she said in a soft voice. "With the rocks. There were five other people and it was dark and there was fire and water and big rocks fell on Papa and he died." He was watching her curiously while she spoke, taking in every word, then nodded and looked at me.

"How bad is your father?"

"He killed 20 men at once all by himself just because they rejected him what he wanted. The men were highly trained and capable of killing any animal easily. Wild. My father is capable of killing a man with his pinky finger. He's ruthless, merciless and heartless. He will kill you instantly, especially if he finds out that you know about everything." He looked at Omorose then stared at me for a while then stood.

"You're staying with me. You don't have to sleep in the apartment if you don't want to. You can sleep in the house or whatever. But you're damn sure not going back to that house." I stared up at him and looked at Omorose, who had stood and moved with him. She knew people well. She knew who was good for us, and obviously, Nathaniel was. I stood and stretched up and kissed his cheek lightly.

"You're good for us. She knows it," I said in a low voice before walking out to the car. They walked out after me and I froze, not getting in the car, gazing down at my feet. "You're good for us…and that's why I can't stay with you. Because if push comes to shove and my father finds us, you'll be the first one he kills. I won't be able to live with myself if I let you die. And I don't use my power for utter destruction like that. If he were to try to hurt you, I most likely would kill him. I don't want to kill anyone and I don't want to cause anyone to be killed. So…we can't stay with you." I got in the car and stared forward. Omorose was already in the car and Nathaniel stood on his side, frozen, eyes wide as he stared forward. He strode around the car to my side and I sighed and tensed as he opened the door. He knelt down in front of me and sighed, his hand in his hair. He just sat there silently for a while, then he shook his head a little.

"Kareemah…I didn't tell you everything about my fiancé. When I met her, she was running away from home, too. She was running from her husband. It was an arranged marriage. She didn't love him and he abused her, so she ran away in the middle of the night. She'd come here and I met her at a restaurant. She was serving the table behind me and I continuously found an excuse to talk to her. She was extremely hesitant and scared, but eventually she spoke to me. After about three months, she told me everything and she also told me she loved me and wanted nothing more than to stay with me forever. I let her. I knew all about this husband and I knew he'd be after. I took precautions. At first, I stayed with her and kept her with me 24/7, but as the months went by with no appearances, I stopped all that. One day, I went out of town for a few hours and came back to find her beaten to death in front of the house. He'd been watching us…waiting for me to be away long enough. He tortured her for an hour, giving her the electric chair before beating her to death with anything he could find. My neighbor said she screamed for hours, calling for me. _Me_. She called out for me and I wasn't there to protect her when she needed me most. I refuse to let that happen again. I'll burn in Hell before I let that happen again." He stopped and looked up at me, still holding my hand. "You were just using me t get to Cairo, but by doing that, you've included me in this whether you like it or not. And now that I know the truth, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I swear on my life. I'll give you my life and my word that nothing will happen to either you or Omorose." I sat there, staring at him, then shook my head. "You don't believe me?"

"I do. But I refuse to let you or anyone else die for me. I let those 20 men die for me, I won't let it happen again. So…so either take me back to the home and stay as far away from me as possible…or we'll walk away." He stared at me shocked, then released my hand and stood slowly. He got in the car and started it before driving back the way we'd come. We rode in silence, having nothing else to say anymore. Even when we got there and he got Omorose out of the car for me, he still didn't speak. He just looked at me sadly. And, god, I almost gave in. I almost forgot everything I'd said and just went with him. Almost. I took Omorose and hurried into the home, shutting the door behind me and never looking back. I didn't relax until I heard the rev of his car starting. I sat Omorose down then motioned for her to go play or something, then sat down in a chair, only half-present in reality. I went on that way all day, basically a zombie as I helped cook and clean with Demita. Later that night, I packed our stuff and waited for Demita to bring Omorose upstairs. She was still wide awake, thankfully. Once Demita left, I bathed Omorose and redressed her in a navy blue sari before carrying her outside. I don't know where we're going or how we're getting there, but I have a feeling Nathaniel is going to mess up a few things, so we have to leave. We walked for a while before I went back to that restaurant Nathaniel took me to earlier. I just sat in a chair while Omorose ate. I'd lost my appetite. Someone walked in about twenty minutes later and we both looked up to see a young guy, about 20, with dark eyes and a bright smile. Something about him instantly made Omorose go to him, though. And something about him made me stay away. He's too beautiful, his skin too smooth and perfect, smile too pretty. He looked down at her, still smiling. I went over slowly, hesitant.

"Hello, little one. What is your name?"

"Omorose. And…you're Benjamin." I stopped dead in my tracks when she said his name. What? She knows him? His smile faltered a little and he looked shocked. She pointed at me and smiled bright. "That is my sister Kareemah. She's…she's like you. Can you make her like you?" He looked at me and I was still frozen in the middle of the floor.

"Rosie…come here. Now." She looked at me pointedly then shook her head. "Omorose, come here." Benjamin looked up at me again then walked towards me. I mirrored his steps and backed away until my back was against the wall. He stopped a few feet away from me and Omorose had moved with him. "Do not come near me," I said in a low, weak voice. It held no strength or bravery at all. He backed away and looked at Omorose.

"How do you know me, little one?"

"I saw you in my vision. You helped us and Kareemah was one of you."

"One of me?"

"Yes. A vampire. You made her like you because she is like you. She moves the earth like you, too." He looked at me again and I was staring wide eyed and open-mouthed.

"Omorose!" I said in a shocked voice. She ignored me and gazed up at Benjamin. Waiting.

"I saw your Tia, too. And Amun and Kebi. I saw them all. You're going to help us."

"You are like me? what does she mean?" he asked me.

"I…she's just a child. She doesn't know what she's saying."

"No. She knows what she's saying. She knew my name. She knows my family. And she knows me. She is intelligent. What does she mean?"

"I…I…I-I can…I can control natural disasters. I can cause an earthquake or a volcano or a hurricane or a tornado or anything to happen right now at this moment for as long as I wish."

"Do it."

"What?"

"Do it. Make a thunder storm happen right now." I hesitated then obeyed and looked out the window, watching as the sky grew dark and lightning flashed across the sky. A few moments later, thunder rumbled with a viciousness and rain began pouring down. He stared in wonder and then looked at me with a slight smile. "Stop it." I obeyed and everything cleared and went back to normal slowly. He shook his head, smiling brighter than before. "Knock that glass of water over." I looked down at the glass then back at him, confused. He nodded and I did what he said. He caught the glass at an incomprehensible speed and placed it back in its place, but the water…the water was floating in the air, swirling around. I looked at him and his hand was moving it this way and that. Then the water started moving towards me as his hands directed it to. The water appeared in front of my face and I reached up my hand and lightly touched it. It felt normal, it was just floating. I looked up at his face and he was smiling at me as he put the water back into the glass on the table. I watched the water for a while, but nothing happened. When I looked back up at him, I gasped and backed away quickly. His eyes were no longer dark brown, but crimson red. Like bright red. His irises are red! He really is a vampire. I grabbed Omorose and ran out of the building into the warm night with a light cool feel due to the rain I'd caused. I stopped abruptly, seeing whatever vision Omorose had seen of them. I really was going to become one of them. And that's how I would protect her. That's how I would stop my father. It had to happen. I turned to her and looked back at the restaurant. Benjamin stood outside the door and watched me, his eyes bright in the dark night.

"You're…you're really going to help us." He was suddenly in front of me and I gasped loudly, but didn't move.

"I'll try my hardest to." I released Omorose and looked down at her before moving my drape aside from my arm and exposing my wrist to him.

"Can I be unconscious when you do this, though?"

"I…I cannot do that without hurting you." I nodded.

"That's fine. It won't matter later." I closed my eyes and a while later, felt a sharp bang to my head before I blacked out…

**R&R!**


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